We All Fall Down: side B
by Raye Lynne
Summary: I realized, then, that it was because I'd known her my whole life...in all that time, I'd taken her for granted. In meeting her a second time, I was able to finally see what I'd had all along. --Companion to "We All Fall Down." --
1. Chapter 1: To Be the Hero

**We All Fall Down—Side B**

_**A/N: Ok! So! This was originally going to be a part of the HitsuHina fic, We All Fall Down, but I figured that it would be better for the flow of both plotlines to separate them entirely…and also so you IchiHime lovers don't miss out on a good story because it's tied to one labeled HitsuHina. Please let it be clear that this is a COMPANION to the original, NOT a sequel! The only real tie is that both fics are happening at the same time. Read and review, please!**_

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**Chapter One: To Be the Hero**

_**Inoue Orihime**_

I heard his rapid footsteps and his breathing before I saw him. I looked over my shoulder as Ishida-kun gingerly sat up halfway, supporting himself on one arm.

The sight of him sent a pang of dismay through my heart, even though I new it was silly – he was clearly going to be all right. Still, seeing him with his shoulders heaving with each exhausted breath, his robes torn half to shreds, and his body covered in freely bleeding wounds instinctively made me want to go to him, to help him…somehow.

There was a lot of blood on him. _Though not all of it is his…_

I wasn't sure whether that made me feel better or not.

His eyes were the colour of amber, his gaze as hard as steel. Rarely did they ever soften, but they did as they met mine, and my heart fluttered in appreciation. There was beauty hidden in those eyes. If he would only smile…but this was a phenomenon I had never been allowed to witness.

The moment lasted only an instant. "Inoue, Ishi--" he stumbled over Ishida-kun's name: after all, he had very nearly killed him. "Ishida, I'm--- I don't know what happened to me..."

"Neither do I," Ishida-kun replied. "But something tells me there's something else we need to be discussing?"

"Well...yeah. Mayuri found us a way outta here. So, we're going back."

"Where's Chad?"

"Unohana-san is healing him partwas. Just enough to get him through the portal; there's not time to do it all the way. He'll be here --"

"Right now," said Sado-kun, appearing as if called.

"Then that's it. Let's go." Kurosaki-kun reached out a hand to me. I grasped it reflexively and he pulled me to my feet, letting go as soon as I was stable. Even that small amount of skin-to-skin contact sent a thrill through me and I could feel my cheeks flushing slightly. I was dazed for a moment before I rememberd how to speak, then I blurted, "We can't!" I added, "Not yet," my face turning redder as they all stared at me. I swallowed and did my best to speak clearly.

"There's still the--the Hogyoku. A-Aizen showed me where he kept it, to gain my trust, I think. Before we leave, we have to d-destroy it."

Ishida-kun started, "But the Hogyoku can't be des--"

"I-I can do it," I said. "With my power. I can--reject the existence of the Hogyoku."

Theyw ere quiet for a moment.

Kurosaki-kun spoke first. 'Inoue's right. We have to destroy that thing before it can be used to do any more damage."

"Or be used ever again," I added firmly.

"Yeah," he said. His gaze was piercing and determined. "Show us the way, Inoue."

----------------

We met several Arrancar as was made our way through the halls of Las Noches. Ishida- Sado- and Kurosaki-kun took their turns fighting them off, while I stood off to one side, out of the way..like I always had. And, always, I'd longed to be able to do something that no one else could, to be of some help to someone.

Just once, I wanted to be the hero.

But, I was about to have my chance, at last!

--------------------

Sado- and Ishida-kun's eyes widened as they looked upon the Hogyoku and felt the immense power radiating from the tiny orb. Kurosaki-kun, who had already seen it before, simply glared at it.

I took a few steps forward on my own. I had an odd feeling in my stomach. I looked over my shoulder and laughed nervously, "Wish me luck."

"Inoue--" started Kurosaki-kun, sounding irritated. "I was just kidding!" I said quickly.

"...You don't need it anyway," he mumbled.

Kurosaki-kun believed in me! That meant I could do anything,

I raised my hands, aiming my palms towards the Hogyoku, and declared firmly: "I reject!"

No sooner had a shimmering field surrounded the orb than I felt it: a strange _stirring, _an inhuman consciousness inside my mind.

And I realized something was terribly wrong.

I gasped as all my strength was drained from me at an alarming rate. My knees shuddered, and it was all I could do to stay standing. I struggled to reel some of the energy back in, like playing tug-o'-war with something I couldn't hold with my hands, only my mind. I cried out as my mind's grasp gave again, and I became weaker.

The others had sensed something amiss as well. "Inoue!" yelled Kurosaki-kun, and I could hear him start to run for me.

"Stay back, Kurosaki!" shouted Ishida-kun, and the footsteps became his. 'Chad, you, too."

In the back of my mind, I understood why. Sado-kun was something like a Hollow in a human's body, and he might have turned into an Arrancar if he was exposed to the Hogyoku's power. And Kurosaki-kun…he was everything in one, it seemed. Who knew what could happen to him?

But Ishida-kun was a Quincy; he would be all right…

Selfishly, though, I still wished it were Kurosaki-kun's hands that caught me and held me steady when I stumbled.

"Inoue?" Ishida-kun's voice was urgent in my ear. "What's wrong?"

"I—" I gasped again; even more of my strength vanished, and it was hurting me physically as well. "It's – fighting—back."

"Stop, Inoue!" shouted Kurosaki-kun. "Just let it go. We'll take the thing back to Urahara—"

But the Hogyoku was dragging my energy out of me, hungry for more. It wouldn't let me go.

'I—I can't!"

The Hogyoku's power swelled and increased, weighing down on everyone in the room.

"Ishida!" Kurosaki-kun's voice had an edge of panic to it. "Do something!"

"Like what?!"

"I don't – goddammit! Inoue!"

My head was spinning from pain and exhaustion, but the orb would not stop until it consumed me. My own thoughts registered as if from far away, surrounded by a fog, but I realized what I needed to do…if the Hogyoku was taking in my energy, maybe I could still manipulate that energy…

Bracing myself, I continued to attack, while more and more of my strength was lost to me, I made the energy battle the Hogyoku from the inside. The room was completely silent. I could feel the Hogyoku becoming stronger as my energy fed it, and yet weaker as the same energy continued to slowly destroy it. I could sense, also, that whatever consciousness the thing possessed was certainly angry – furious, in fact. If I failed, it would kill us all.

_I can do this! I have to do this…_

I saw my powers as a ball of yarn. I held fast onto one end and the Hogyoku took the other, both of us unraveling the ball from opposite sides. If I let go of my end, I would lose, and it would mean my life, and Sado-kun's, Ishida-kun's, and…Kurosaki-kun's. I could never let them die from my weakness.

In my mind, I completely loosed the yarn-ball, holding fast to the string as it stretched taut.

The Hogyoku became blurred at the edges –tiny pieces crumbled away into oblivion…

_Yes!_

And then, all of a sudden, it collapsed on itself, imploding into nothingness.

But I'd made a huge mistake.

The Hogyoku still had not released me. Even now, it was pulling, draining, consuming, from somewhere in a realm of nonexistence, somewhere my powers couldn't reach –

No one else had noticed.

"Inoue," Kurosaki-kun started, sounding amazed, "you—"

His words were drowned out, for all I could hear was my own screaming as my end of the string was torn away from me.

I stumbled forward, away from a startled Ishida-kun, and collapsed. Only I never hit the floor, as Kurosaki-kun had shot forward to catch me.

"Inoue! Inoue! C'mon, snap out of it! Say something!"

I couldn't. I was too far away…I was dying, after all.

Inside my body felt so black…so empty…hollow…Hollow...?

_Oh, no!_

"K-K-Kuro-Kurosaki-kun," I gasped. My vision was black with fatigue, red with pain…

"C'mon, you'll be okay," he said. "Can you stand up?"

"N-no…Kuro—saki ---"

'Ichigo," said Sado-kun uneasily. "Wait a minute. Do you feel that?"

There was silence and stillness.

'No, Inoue!" Kurosaki-kun cried suddenly. 'No!"

I started crying. "I'm sorry; I'm sorry; I'm sorry," I sobbed, then spent several seconds gasping for air.

Kurosaki-kun demanded, "Let's get her the hell outta here; we can –"

"It's already too late, Ichigo," said Sado-kun gently. 'You know that."

"There has to be--!"

"Kurosaki," said Ishida-kun, softly but firmly, "you know you have to—"

"No way!"

'It's the only way to save her—"

"I said, no fucking way!"

'It'll be easier than letting her –"

'If it's so goddamn easy, then you do it!"

'You know I can't! You know I'll end up destroying her soul."

Silence again.

_So…much…pain…_

'K-Kur-ro-sa-k-ki-kun…"

"Ichigo…we'll see her again. We can find her in the Rukongai, somewhere. She just—won't be able to come back with us."

"P-p-please – hel-lp – me…"

_Kurosaki-kun will save me. He always has…_

Silence.

"Kurosaki. You can't wait anymore, or it will be too late."

Silence.

Footsteps.

Warm breath in my ear.

'Inoue – you did it. You saved us."

_I…saved…you?_

"Thank you. Very much."

_I'm a hero! At last!_

"Inoue…I'm – so sorry…"

_But if I'm the hero now…_

…_who will save me?_

_It hurts…so much…_

'Inoue…"

_Kurosaki-kun…Ichigo…_

And then, miraculously, there was no pain at all.

_**A/N: Okay, that's it for now! Let me hear your thoughts, please! And also check out the original We All Fall Down if you haven't already and if you're a HitsuHina fan. See you next chapter!**_

_**~Raye Lynne**_


	2. Chapter 2: Weight of the World

A/N: Thank-yous are in order to the following: Detective-Banana, xXsnowfeltXx, Star-In-The-Sky-25, NaruHinaFanboy, Not so Anonymous, Nocturneai, and iwonn and the community IchiHime ~*Five Lifetimes - One Love *~ You are all awesome, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Two – Weight of the World**

_**Ishida Uryuu**_

"You may see him," said Unohana-taicho. "However…don't be alarmed if he doesn't seem himself. I believe that, though perfectly healthy, he is in shock."

_That would probably be an understatement._

He was sitting on the edge of his cot, staring out the window, not looking at anything in particular, simply staring. Lifeless. Empty. Numb. His eyes were glazed over.

"Kurosaki."

His head turned to face me; he was scowling.

"What do you want, Ishida?"

'You know, they're not going to let you out of here if you don't snap out of it."

"Fuck that."

"You couldn't have done anything differently. She would have been lost forever if you hadn't –"

"Shut up."

Scanning the room in my periphery, I noticed an untouched tray of food by the bed.

"Sitting here and making yourself miserable isn't going to change anything, Kurosaki. I'm sorry – but Inoue is gone. But she was going either way – the only way she would still be here is if she were a Hollow. As awful as it is, she had to die. I miss her as well, and I can imagine how hard it must have been to do what needed to be done…"

"You don't have a fuckin' clue what you're talking about, Ishida."

"Alright…maybe I don't. But Inoue gave her life to save ours. She died a hero, and you let her die as such – instead of dying a monster."

He was silent.

I gestured out the window. "She's out there, somewhere. Why don't you try to find her?"

'Why don't you?"

'While I'd like to see her, you know she would be worried if Chad and I came without you. All she'd do would be to ask questions about where you were, how you were doing and such –"

"I doubt it."

…

…_To me, at least…it's perfectly obvious how Inoue feels about him. Could it be that it's completely escaped him…?_

He said suddenly, flatly, "She wouldn't want to be face-to-face with her murderer."

"You didn't kill her, Kurosaki. She'd be happy to see you."

"_No."_

Something occurred to me then. "You're scared to see her again, aren't you?"

Without warning, he leapt to his feet.

"Keep your mouth shut or I'll fuckin' cut you up again!" he hollered, either unaware ot uncaring of the fact that his zanpaku-to was not in the room. "Got it?!"

"Kurosaki! You're not even trying to—"

Seemingly out of nowhere, Unohana-taicho appeared between us. "Perhaps you ought to leave, Ishida-san," she said softly, yet in that way of hers that made it impossible to argue.

"Of course, at once," I replied.

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Kurosaki was released the next day, but it was required that we stay in the Soul Society until the dust had settled. The war was over; Aizen was dead at the hands of Hitsugaya-taicho. However, there were many deaths, countless injuries, and much damage to be repaired.

Kurosaki, meanwhile, was avoiding me, speaking only to Chad or Rukia.

If that's how he was going to be, then he would find himself alone very soon, for they would only tell him the same things I had.

_**Inoue Orihime**_

___I am Inoue Orihime._

_ I am dead._

_ Being dead, I am going to assume that I'm in the land of the dead, wherever that is._

Those were the only things I knew. All of I sudden, I'd found myself standing on a busy dirt road, being jostled and cursed at by all sorts of people, none of whom I'd recognized.

I'd been knocked over by a woman who'd seemed in a particular hurry; I'd scrambled to my feet and stood off to one side, trying to regain my breath. It had been as though I'd just awoken, without any memory of going to sleep…or getting into bed…or even putting my pyjamas on.

I stood there, then, going over again what I knew. I knew who I was. I knew why I was there. But that was it. Surely, being dead, it meant I had been alive once. But I could remember nothing.

I felt as though I should be looking for someone, or several someones. I hand't the faintest idea who, though.

Perhaps my clothes would give me a clue. But the pale blue yukata of a rather coarse material told no story. I was comforted, though, by the fact that it was blue. I liked blue.

Perhaps it was that fact that I could remember liking blue that comforted me, more so than the yukata happening to be that colour…

Either way, it was a fleeting comfort.

_Where do I go now?_

_ Perhaps I should ask someone…_

"Excuse me," I said tentatively, stopping a woman with silver hair. "Do you know where I'm supposed to go?"

"How should I know?" she snapped, without thinking, then something seemed to occur to her. "Oh…are you new here?"

"Um…yes, I do suppose so."

"You poor thing," she said, only not sympathetically. More dismissively. Before I could ask anything else, she was gone.

I tried talking to a serious-looking man.

"Pardon me, sir. I'm – um, new here. I was wondering…do you know – is there somewhere I need to go?"

The man's brow furrowed. "You need to go wherever someone will take you, I s'pose. There oughtta be someone here for you, 'else you'd've ended up in one of the poorer districts, mos' like. Jus' gotta look around and see who'll take you in. Only, be careful," he cautioned. "Pretty girl like you – don' wan' someone tryin' to take you in for the wrong reasons. There aren' many of them sort in this section, but there's some. Be careful 'en, eh? I'd take you m'self but—" he shrugged. "Gotta lotta mouths to feed already. S'nothin' personal, on m'honour, such 's it is. Good luck, girl."

"Th-thank you, sir."

'S'nothin'. Really. Nothin'."

The shadows were getting longer; the sun was setting. I had nowhere to spend the night, and no idea where to start looking.

_ "Pretty girl like you – don' wan' someone tryin' to take you in for the wrong reasons."_

I shivered, slightly. I was pretty sure I knew what the man had meant by that…

A hand rested itself upon my shoulder, and I spun around with a cry.

A dark-haired young man stepped back, smiling sheepishly. "Terribly sorry," he said. "I called out, but you must not have heard…but of course you would have been startled…" he laughed. "What an odd way to meet! You must forgive me…my name is Inoue Sora."

As far as my past was concerned, the name meant nothing. And yet, I immediately knew the name before me – Sora, my loving, protecting, guardian-angel brother, Sora.

_But…does he know me…?_

'I'm Orihime…Inoue Orihime."

'I thought so," he said, smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yes," I replied. How strange it was, to know someone like you knew yourself, and yet only to be meeting them, having no knowledge of your life together, what you've shared…

"We've met before, haven't we?" I asked, to make sure.

"Not in this world. Certainly, when we were alive, we met, and knew each other very well, and shared a great many wonderful times, with some sad ones, too, I'm sure. But…when you come here, none of that matters." He seemed a bit sad, even though he said this as a fact.

"But…I recognized you. Actually, you recognized me first. So will I know other people here?"

"Only family know each other. Though I suppose it's possible friends and lovers might meet again and never know of a shared past, only family can remember each other like we do."

"Only family?"

"Only family."

* * *

A/N: What could this possibly mean for Ichigo, should he decide to face his guilt and his fear? Please review and let me know what you think so far :)

~Raye Lynne


	3. Chapter 3: Desert of the Mind

**We All Fall Down: Side B**

**A/N: SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!!!!! FORGIVE ME PLEASE!!! Writer's block is an unfortunate thing, indeed. Dx Thank you very much to Blitch for your reviews, and thank you to everyone who stuck with me for this unexpected hiatus. Short chapter, but there is much more to follow!**

**Chapter 3—Desert of the Mind**

_**Kurosaki Ichigo**_

It didn't matter where I went; it was the same as being trapped in that fucking infirmary room. I was trapped in my own mind; inside my head, all I could see was the light fading from Inoue's eyes, her lips struggling to form words, and the way she went still while her robes reddened. And the way she'd looked at me, no, _into _me, and smiled.

I'd had to close my eyes before I plunged Zangetsu into her heart.

The memory haunted me, sleeping and awake. Her face never disappeared from my mind's eye. Nothing could distract me from the constant and crushing ache of guilt. I even made attempts to start fights amongst the other shinigami to take my mind off things, but Rukia had quickly put a stop to that.

"Have a little respect!" she'd snapped at me. "Do you really think that with everything going on here, we need you screwing around and making enemies? And you're lucky it was me who caught you, by the way. There would have been hell to pay if it had been one of the captains."

"Yeah? Fuck 'em."

"Ichigo – you did what you had to do. You had no choice. You need to accept things as they are and start moving on."

I'd said nothing.

"And if I find out you're still picking fights, I'll kick your ass, got it?"

So there was nothing that could take away the memory of the feeling in the air, the shivers of horror that had shot up my arms and down my back as Inoue's reiatsu was rapidly becoming Hollowfied.

I'd sworn to protect her, and she was transforming into a monster before my eyes. There was nothing I could do to stop it. I was completely helpless. Nothing could be done; nothing. The only way to save her was to kill her.

Even the smallest fragment of memory forced me eyes shut and my hands into fists. There would be no peace for me…

…until I went into the Rukongai and found her. Found Inoue…and her forgiveness.

_Looks like Ishida was right…._

"Bastard," I muttered half-heartedly.

What if she did forgive me, though? Wouldn't that almost be worse? I didn't deserve her forgiveness. Whatever the circumstances, whatever consequences there may have been otherwise, it still came down to the fact that I'd killed her.

_Killed---_

Still, no way would I back down. There was only one way to find out what was what.

_**Kuchiki Rukia**_

"Chad, Ishida – have you seen Ichigo?"

"He's gone to the Rukongai," said Chad solemnly. "To find Inoue-san."

"Yes, he just left," added Ishida.

My eyes shot open wide and I stiffened for a moment. "Is this true?"

"Yes, he just talked to us and told us he was going," replied Ishida, sounding confused. "Is something wrong, Rukia-san?"

"Then no one's told him…." I murmured, more to myself than to them.

"Told him what?" asked Chad, worried.

"I thought telling him would only keep him away for longer, and so I didn't say anything…but, the fact is, Orihime-san is not going to remember Ichigo when she sees him."

"What?!" they both exclaimed, taken aback.

"When a human dies, and their soul arrives in the Soul Society, they lose all their memories of their lives in the human world. The only exception is they are able to identify any blood relatives who have already passed on – parents, siblings, and children. This is to increase the chances of survival, to make it easier to find someone who will take you in once you arrive until you can stand on your own. But, with the human heart being so fickle, whatever being governs the afterlife has made it so that friends and loved ones are forgotten – along with everything that has ever happened to them in their human lives."

"That's –" Ishida started, then broke off abruptly, not knowing what to say. Chad was silent.

"We won't be able to stop him now," I said grimly. "He probably wouldn't even believe us until he saw for himself."

_**Kurosaki Ichigo**_

I started looking in the richer districts – I refused to even consider the possibility that Inoue may have ended up in the slums of the Rukongai. I'd changed into a plain yukata, so my black shinigami robes and zanpaku-to wouldn't cause any alarm.

No one, though, seemed to have seen a brown-eyed girl with long orange hair who always wore blue flower-shaped hairpins above her ears. No one had heard the name Inoue Orihime, either. But, I was finally told there was an Inoue Sora who lived nearby.

_Her brother! Maybe she's with him…_

Right then, when I'd been about to start off looking for him, there she was, walking off alone. Her back was to me, but there was no mistake. I was the only one with hair brighter than that….

I ran to catch up, calling, "Inoue--!"

She stopped and turned, eyes wide.

I stood a few feet away, not too close.

"Inoue—I just want to talk to you. I – I'm sorry for not coming earlier, but – I had no idea what you would say, if you would be angry at me, or—"

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding confused. "Inoue is my name – Inoue Orihime, actually – but I think you have the wrong person. I'm afraid I don't know you."

I was pretty sure my heart stopped then. "What?"

"I don't know who you are; I'm sorry."

_I-i-impossible! _"I'm Ichigo---Kurosaki Ichigo. You don't – remember me?"

"Oh…did I know you from…when I was alive?"

"Yes. We were…friends."

_Why does that word feel so strange to say? We __were__ friends._

She smiled, sheepishly. "Well, that explains it. I can't remember anything or anyone from when I was alive, except Sora-nii. It's a very strange thing…I'm still getting used to it. I guess it's just like being born – I have to make all new memories."

_She doesn't remember…_

It was worse than forgiveness. She didn't get to choose whether or not to be angry at me…she didn't remember that I'd taken her life, and now stolen her memory with it.

"I'm sorry, Kurosaki-san."

_You're__sorry? God, Inoue…_

"At least…tell me how you're doing here?"

"Well, I'm just getting used to things. I have Sora-nii, but I'm a bit nervous when I try and talk to other people. Except—not you…" She smiled. "Kurosaki-san…my old memory is gone…but would you like to be a part of my new one? I mean – if we were friends before, we can be friends again, right?"

"Uh…yeah. That makes sense."

"Okay!" she said, smiling again. "Meet me here tomorrow then, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Okay." She giggled. "Well, it was nice meeting you…again…?" She laughed nervously, then she was gone. Only when she was out of sight I realized she hadn't been wearing her hairpins.

What could have happened to them? It would be pointless to ask – she wouldn't know what I was talking about.

"Ichigo, don't you remember? They crumbled into dust when she was – transforming," said Chad softly. "Her reiatsu was consumed, and so its physical form was no longer needed."

"No…I never saw that…" Only her panicked face and wide, flashing eyes that cried for help…and all I could do was---

_No. Just stop thinking._

"_If we were friends before, we can be friends again, right?"_

_Inoue…I don't know if I can._

_I don't know…_

…_if I'm…_

…_strong enough._

"_Meet me tomorrow."_

_I owe it to her. I'll do anything. Anything she wants._

_She deserves friends who won't hurt her!_

_But she chose me._

_Then we will be friends again, nakama again. Her wish will be my command until the day I die, and forever after._

**A/N: About Orihime's eyes, I know they're grey/blue in the anime, but I use the manga colouring. Anyway, stay tuned for chapter four…I hope it won't be as long in coming …"**


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